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'JUST A DAY' - Scouting's Aid Project

Policy Organisation and Rules Amendments

Millennium Celebrations - Attention All Scout Groups

Less VAT for Scout Groups? - Tax Consultation Ends in August

Focus on Sight - Gilwell Reunion

Scout Fellowship - National Appointment

Health & Safety Alan's Appeal

Headquarters Appointments - Key Positions

One Step Beyond - Overseas Opportunities

Deed Of Covenant - Membership Subscriptions

Collecting Cans - Get Some In

All Terrain Vehicles - Go Slow for Quadbikes

A Trust Too Far? - Scouting Related Trusts And Companies.

Starting Pistols - Firearms?

AGM - Book Your Seat

Venture Scouts - Getting Organised

Scout Prayer Cards - Theological Thoughts

Russia Network - October Meeting

GAPP - Information Days

International Camps - Review Day

Committee News

The National Cost of Supporting Scouting:

Equal Opportunities:

Cultural Awareness Training:

Sponsorship & Promotions:

Friends of Scouting UK:

Council of the Association:

Brownsea Island Scout & Guide Management Committee:

Gilwell Park Campsite Redevelopment:

World Scout Conference Durban July 1999:

Going for Growth:

Census 1999 - Ethnic Survey:

National Volunteer Structures:

European Jamboree 2001:

Scouting 2007 Ltd:

Meetings of the Committee of the Council:

The following is part of the text of a letter from the European Scout Region. It has already been circulated to County Commissioners.

Scout Associations throughout Europe have been responding to the human needs - especially those of young people - which have been created by the emergency in the Balkans.

Whilst we strongly encourage Associations to continue to assist non-governmental organisations and relief agencies, we believe that we need to look at ways in which the Scout Movement in Balkan countries can be supported.

Following a meeting of these Associations in Athens on 16 May, hosted by Soma Hellinon Proskopon with the support of the European Scout Region, we are proposing a project called JUST A DAY. The idea is that, when a Scout unit (whether Cub Scouts, Scouts or Venture Scouts) is planning a camp they add to the amount charged to their members the cost of an extra day.

We calculate that this will be on average about EUR 5 per person. The money raised by this is then donated to the Just a Day Project. The European Scout Foundation will hold the money received and the European Scout Committee will agree the precise uses for the money. All money raised will be exclusively used to support the work of Scouting in the Balkans.

Payments should be sent to: The European Scout Foundation "Emergency in the Balkans" UBS-SA Case Postale 2600 CH-1211 Geneva No 240-605864 70F. This account is a Euro account. By transferring money in Euros if you can, costs are reduced to a minimum. However, payment in any convertible currency is acceptable.

The money collected will help: - Scouts in the Balkans to take part in more camps and other activities - children and young people in those countries to take part in activities provided by Scouts, either in refugee camps or with young people who have been traumatised by the war in other ways. We are developing a project to help this, to be called CHILDREN FIRST. We will send you more information on this. - leaders to be trained and supported in order to work effectively in these difficult circumstances.

JUST A DAY is not only a way of raising money. It is an educational programme for Scouts all over Europe. Special resource material has been devised for use by Scout units. This material is designed to help our members to realise and understand the situation for children and young people in the Balkans and to decide to help. The activities are enjoyable and a practical support for busy leaders, always looking for programme ideas!

The material will be downloadable from the European Scout Region's web site: www.scout.org/europe. We expect the material to be available from 1 June 1999.

The following amendments will be incorporated into Policy, Organisation and Rules and are effective immediately.

(a) The District Scout Council

The following are members of the District Scout Council

Delete the first bullet point and replace with . . .

Commissioners, Scouters, Administrators, Helpers, Skills Instructors, Advisers, all Venture Scouts and the Chairmen of Patrol Leaders' Councils in the District.

(a) The County Scout Council
(i) The County Scout Council consists of . . .

Nominated members

Delete the paragraph and replace with . . .

Persons nominated annually by the County Commissioner in consultation with the County Chairman. Scouters and members of the District Scout Council aged between 18 and 25 years old, nominated annually by each District Scout Council and Patrol Leaders nominated annually by each District Patrol Leaders' Council. The number to be nominated to be decided by the County Scout Council.

(b) The County Executive Committee
(i) The County Executive Committee consists of . . .

Invited members

Replace title to read

Invited to attend

(a) The District Commissioner is responsible to the County Commissioner and to Headquarters for the development of Scouting in the District and for promoting and maintaining the Policy of the Association, and for . . .

Add a new bullet point at the end . . .

. . . encouraging the formation, operation and effective working of the District Patrol Leaders' Council.

(a) The County Commissioner is responsible to the Chief Scout and Headquarters for the development of Scouting in the County and for promoting and maintaining the Policy of the Association, and for . . .

Add a new bullet point at the end . . .

. . . encouraging the formation, operation and effective working of the County Patrol Leaders' Council.

Delete paragraph (c) and replace with . . .

(c) Authorisation is granted by the applicant's District Commissioner. For special events and activities authorisation may be granted by a County, National or Chief Commissioner. The Commissioner confirms the applicant's general suitability and is satisfied that the applicant has completed a First Response Course within the 3 years prior to the application (see also Rule 37.2 (e)). Holders of a valid First Aid Qualification, where the syllabus equals or exceeds that of a First Response Course, especially in respect of hypothermia and hyperthermia, meets this requirement. The appropriate County Activity Assessor undertakes a check of technical competence and experience before recommending to the Commissioner the level of authorisation that should be granted.

Delete paragraph (f) and replace with . . .

(f) Members of the Scout Section and above may undertake tow launched dual flights with a paraglider pilot approved by the Chief Club Instructor and under the supervision of an authorised person holding an instructor rating of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.

Delete paragraph (l) and replace with . . .

(l) Beaver Scouts may attend Family Camps under the supervision and control of their parent(s) or guardian(s) or responsible adult(s) nominated by the Beaver Scout's parent(s) or guardian(s) who takes responsibility for the individual child and has completed the appropriate form from Headquarters. The nominated adult must not be a member of the camp Leadership Team.

Delete the sentence and replace with . . .

Knives may not be worn with uniform except for religious reasons.

Note that there are a few words missing from the consolidated version of POR on the CD ROM. Rule 81.2 should read . . .

A statement of accounts must be prepared annually and be scrutinised, independently examined or audited as appropriate in accordance with these Rules. The Group Treasurer must ensure that a copy of the annual statement, signed personally by the Group Chairman and Treasurer, together with the report, duly signed, of the scrutineer, independent examiner or auditor as appropriate is sent to the District Treasurer within 14 days of the Group's Annual General Meeting at which the statement is considered. If the Group is a registered Charity (see Rule 94.2 (a)), a copy of the statement (together with an annual report) may also have to be sent to the Charity Commissioners within ten months of the financial year. If called upon to do so, the Group Treasurer must send a copy of the latest statement of accounts to the local County Treasurer, Headquarters or the Charity Commissioners.

A pack containing the Millennium Chase Resource and the Camps Resource Book has been sent to your District Commissioner, free of charge, one copy per Group. If you haven't received your copy contact your District Commissioner.

The Government has invited comment on taxation of the charity sector. Based on what we hear at Headquarters from Scout Groups, Districts and Counties the irrecoverable cost of VAT on minibuses, Scouting equipment, building repairs and so on is a particularly unwelcome burden.

The current review by Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise includes no proposals for new concessions on VAT. Charities may respond by the end of August, writing to:- Windy Kwok, Inland Revenue, Room 108, New Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LB. Fax: 0171 438 7134. Email: wk.wok.ir.sh@gtnet.gov.uk

If you respond direct, you might indicate how much irrecoverable VAT your Scout unit incurs and relate this to your total expenditure. The additional fund-raising to pay for VAT might have consequences for the time taken to start a new project or time taken away from working with young people.

Do not try to make party political points. It is rare for a consultation like this to be offered. Also it is unlikely that there will be an opportunity for the charity sector to express its views about taxation again. Remember the end of August deadline.

At Gilwell Reunion, The National Team for Special Needs will be providing activities to focus on Sight and Visual Impairment. One of the activities will be to collect old glasses to support people in developing countries who are visually impaired. This will be undertaken through the charity Vision Aid Overseas. Any donations of glasses that can be sent/delivered to Gilwell would be welcome. Please mark for the attention of the Special Needs Team.

In February 2000 David Shaw's term of office as National Chairman of the Scout Fellowship comes to an end. At its February 1999 meeting Committee of the Council confirmed its decision that in future this appointment will be made under the normal search procedure for a lead volunteer and not by election as has previously been the case.

It is the intention to appoint a Chairman Designate in October this year so that there can be a suitable hand-over period. A job description and person specification is available from the Adult Support Office at Gilwell Park. Nominations may by made by any Member of the Movement and all nominees will be considered by a Search Group. Meetings with shortlisted candidates will be held in October.

Nominations, giving the nominees name, address, appointment and a brief outline of why you consider the individual suitable, should be sent by no later than 27 August to Search Group (Scout Fellowship), Gilwell Park, Bury Road, Chingford E4 7QW.

The following is a request from Dr Alan Copson, newly appointed Health & Safety Officer at Headquarters.

I have been appointed to advise The Scout Association (volunteers & staff) on Health & Safety matters. I cannot promise I will know the answer but I am very happy to discuss items of concern. Equally, I want to hear how problems have been solved. I also invite people involved in Scouting but whose employment is connected with health, safety or the environment to contact me. I envisage a kind of 'talking shop' arrangement to discuss issues, spread good practice etc. If interested please contact me.

Alan Copson - Health & Safety Officer, Baden-Powell House. Tel 0171-590-5194 E-mail alan.copson@scout.org.uk

A number of Search Groups have recently been established to seek nominations for the Headquarters volunteer positions listed below, some of which are currently vacant and some of which will become vacant over the coming months.

The Search Groups are tasked with receiving and considering the nominations, meeting with prospective candidates and making recommendations to the appropriate Headquarters Committees. If you would be interested in nominating a person for any of these positions and would like to receive further details, please send a stamped addressed envelope to the Programme and Development Department at Gilwell Park, clearly marking your envelope "Search Group (Title of Post)".

The posts under consideration are:

• National Commissioner for Programme;
• National Commissioner for Development;
• International Commissioner;
• UK Contingent Leader and Deputy - 2003 World Jamboree;
• National Chair of The Scout Fellowship;
• UK Contingent Leader - 2001 European Jamboree.

A one day workshop to support and encourage expeditions, exchanges and project work in countries outside Europe will be held at Baden-Powell House on 30 October 1999. The day is aimed particularly at those working with Venture Scout Units and older Scouts. Further information available from Mark Larigo, International Team, Gilwell Park.

As from 6 April 1999 covenantors are no longer required to complete the tax deduction certificate R185 (Covenant). This relates to all Deeds, regardless of when they were signed. For example if a Covenant was signed three years ago and you did not get the R185 signed at the time you no longer need to, but you can still make a claim under that Deed provided the payment was received. (Tax reclaims can be made up to 6 years after the tax year which you are making the claim for).

This, coupled with the fact that one Deed of Covenant can last for the entire time the young person stays in the Group (providing you use the correct wording), means that there has never been a better time to introduce Deed of Covenant to your Group.

A Starter Pack, approved by the Inland Revenue containing a sample Deed of Covenant form is available. Please send an A4 SAE to the Finance & Marketing Department at B-P House.

The Association has a stock of collecting cans and associated material which it is disposing of. These come in packages of:

10 COLLECTING CANS
70 TAMPER PROOF SEALS
50 COLLECTOR CARDS

The material itself is free but the cost of delivery (within 48 hours), packaging and handling is £10.15. It is only available in the quantities outlined above but there is no limit to the number of packages that can be ordered. Orders will be dispatched on a first come first served basis and are subject to availability.

Cheques should be made payable to The Scout Association. Please send your orders along with details of a daytime delivery address to the Fundraising Department at B-P. House.

The All-Terrain Motor Vehicles (Safety) Regulations 1989 set out the conditions which must be met before Quadbikes (or ATV's) may be supplied for use by children. Anyone considering providing Quadbiking as an activity for members of the Movement should ensure that the bikes comply with the regulations and that the suppliers are aware of the age related speed restrictions. Copies of the regulation may be obtained from HMSO, quoting ISBN reference 0 11 098288 6.

There is a growing tendency for Scout authorities to set up Trusts or Limited Companies, as vehicles to handle certain aspects of their activities. Whilst there is no reason why they should not do so, Scout authorities contemplating such action should bear in mind that, for example, a company set up to manage a trading operation will be a separate legal entity and not covered by any existing Scout Association Insurance. The same may apply to a Trust set up to manage a facility such as a camp site. In some cases, it is being assumed that The Scout Associations Legal Liability Policy will automatically extend to include these Companies or Trusts when, in fact, it does not. A Company or Trusts Insurance requirements may be very different from that of its parent authority. Any Scout Authority with concerns in this area should contact Scout Insurance Services at Lancing.

The Association recently received an enquiry as to whether starting pistols were 'firearms' within the meaning of legislation. Richard Worth of the Home Office has confirmed that starting pistols which fire blanks and which were specifically designed and manufactured to start sporting events do not require licensing. However, a handgun, adapted for use as a starting pistol, is still legally a handgun and cannot be legally held or used except in exceptional circumstances and by special exemption.

The Annual General Meeting of The Scout Association will be held at Baden-Powell House on Saturday, September 25th, 1999, at 11.00am. Details will be sent to all Members of the Council.

In addition to all Members of the Council, any adult Member of the Movement may apply to attend the Annual General Meeting as an observer. Attendance is restricted by the seating available and applications will be dealt with in order of receipt. Only those people authorised to attend can be admitted to the Annual General Meeting of the Council. Members of the Movement wishing to attend should write to The Secretary, at Baden-Powell House, before Friday August 13th, 1999, stating what appointment they hold in the Movement.

Update 3 for the 'Getting Organised' folder is now available from the Information Centre for £1.50. This replaces updates 1 & 2, and all future orders of the 'Getting Organised' folder will include Update 3.

Pocket sized Prayer Cards for Scouts are available from the Information Centre on receipt of a stamped addressed envelope. Please include stamps for 26p for 10 cards and 52p for 25 cards.

The next meeting of the Russia Network will be held at Kibblestone Scout Camp, Staffordshire on 16 October 1999. Overnight accommodation will be available on both 15 and 16 October. The main topic for consideration is the UK Contingent to the 3rd Russian International Jamboree, Volga 2000. In addition to Russian items, a visit is being arranged to the Wedgewood Museum. Those interested should contact Gretta Bloor on 01782 799 262 or email: bea04@keele.ac.uk

Two one day information days to enable Counties/Areas to introduce GAPP in their locality will be held on 18 September 1999 at Raywell Court Scout Centre, Humberside and 9 October 1999 at Baden-Powell House, London. Further information will be sent shortly to Assistant County/Area Commissioners (International).

A one day review will be held for the organisers of international camps at Baden-Powell House on 6 November 1999. This day is open to organisers of international camps in 1999 and to those who are considering organising events in the next few years. Contact David McKee, International Team, Gilwell Park for further details.

It was agreed that the Membership Subscription for 2000/2001 should be up to £12.50 and that the Treasurer should inform the Council at the AGM that a further significant increase may be required for 2001/2002. Further information has already been sent to County/Area Commissioners. In addition sub-Committees in September will be asked to consider all Headquarters services/activities and identify any that they feel should be reduced or cut. The Committee will consider the matter again at its next meeting.

Elected Youth Representatives: The Council has approved the voting procedure for Elected Youth Representatives (3) to the Committee of the Council.

The EOPs policy in POR will be amended to include an additional statement that 'The Scout Association opposes all forms of Racism'.

It was agreed that training should be undertaken by all members of Headquarters committees.

It was agreed that the existing sponsorship policy should be reviewed.

It was agreed that the Chairman of the Friends of Scouting (UK) and staff be supported by a steering committee reporting jointly to the Finance and General Purposes sub-Committees.

The Committee agreed to invite 17 persons to become Elected Members of the Council. Once appointed the new Archbishop of Westminster will also be invited.

A new constitution for the committee has been jointly agreed with the Guide Association.

The Committee confirmed that: Gilwell Park should primarily be a residential centre. The following three objectives were also agreed. A wide variety of levels of service should be offered, from an "independent" camp (during which we may just provide activities) to a fully supported experience (where additional staff, catering and programming was supplied). One of the purposes should be to train adults as well as "just" provide activities for young people. It was felt we had a responsibility in this area as a national Scout centre. The staff should be supportive and work with the people visiting, not just be providers of activities or services. The working group is to prepare a more detailed plan with costings for the Committee to consider in October.

The delegation to the World Scout Conference was mandated to act and take decisions at the Conference in the best interests of Scouting in the UK and world-wide. The Committee agreed a position statement for the Association on relationships between the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and the World Association of Girl Guides & Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

The working group will propose a new agenda for action at the October meeting of the Committee. It is convening a group of HQ/County/District representatives to gather suggestions for action on 26 September 1999. It is not proposed to offer refunds for increased membership in Groups in 2000.

The Committee noted the Association Membership (UK population in brackets).. Asian 0.86% (3.4%); Black 0.45% (1.6%); Mixed 0.90% (no category); White 97.52% (94.5%); Other 0.27% (0.5%)

It was agreed that from after the Annual General Meeting: The International Commissioner will become a member of the Chief Scout's Committee. There will be a new Programme and Development sub-Committee with new Terms of Reference. The Finance sub-Committee and a new General Purposes sub-Committee will also have new terms of reference.

The National Chairman of the Scout Team and one other (to be decided) will join the Scouts de France planning team. The Association will send a contingent to the event. A Search Group has been established to appoint a Contingent Leader. A part-time member of staff to support the contingent will be appointed on a short term contract and paid for from participants fees.

It was agreed to establish a company. Its first Chairman will be Derek Pollard. Jim Hunter and Derek Humphreys, the Chief Executive and the Director of Finance will be Company Directors. The Secretary of the Association will initially be the Company Secretary

These will be held on: 1999: - 25 Sep (BPH); 30/31 Oct (GP); 2000: - 12/13 Feb (GP); 6/7 May (GP); 24/25 June (GP); 23 Sep (BPH); 28/29 Oct (GP)