Our County Annual Membership fee
Our annual county membership fee helps us to provide the opportunities, services, and support we offer to our members at all levels across the county. The fee helps us provide support services such as programme, volunteer learning, the growth and organisational development of local scouting, administration, volunteer support services and some additional insurances for all members (to name a few).
It’s clear from our 2024 Census figures that our membership numbers are growing and whilst we are seeing our membership growing in many areas, as a county it is taking us longer than the three years projected nationally to reach our pre-pandemic figures in all our districts.
Our County membership fee is set each year by the County Board of Trustees and is calculated based on the number of Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, and Explorers submitted on the county census return. Adult volunteers and Network members do not pay the UKHQ or County membership fee.
Image
About the membership fee
The county membership fee is paid annually by our groups and units to contribute to the operating costs of managing and providing organisation management and development, programme, and volunteer support to our adult members across the county. This includes all the areas mandated in POR and the additional services the county provides to support and help volunteer managers and leaders at all levels. All members have paid an annual membership fee at national and county level every year since the county was founded in1965.
Groups and units make their own decisions on how they want to collect and pay their membership fees. Most youth members make donations (subscriptions) to their Scout Groups or Explorer Scout Units to attend scouting activities and events and the amount is calculated from the cost of running scouting locally, inclusive of the UKHQ, District and County membership fees.
How your membership fee is used
We're committed to making sure you have what you need to support young people, week in, week out. From volunteer services and activity opportunities and advice, through to support with growing scouting in our community’s and proactive district support. Our membership fees help us provide our members and volunteers with a wide range of opportunities, services, and support; our services and support include:
Youth programme and activities
- Managing the DofE Award scheme
- Programme support
- Programme opportunities
- County badge initiatives
- Access to Online Scout Manager, Gold Plus membership, to every section and every Unit
- Young Leader training
- Youth Shaped events
- Adventurous activities specialists, Assessors and Advisers
Development of Scouting
- Supporting Inclusive growth and organisational development of local scouting – new groups and new sections
- Support for the recruitment and retention of volunteers
- Engagement with Community leaders and other stakeholders
- ‘Become a Scout’ enquiry system
- ‘Volunteer with us’ enquiry system
- District development planning
- District action for growth plans
Adult support and personal development
- Volunteer learning and development opportunities & administration
- Induction and direct support to volunteer line managers (Lead Volunteers)
- Safeguarding and safety advice, support, and incident management
- First aid Training (higher level)
- Digital tools and resources eg – transformation support, adult rotas, trustee toolkit, recruitment tools
- Peer recognition and celebration
- 24/7 critical incident support
Volunteer Support services
- Insurance – county equipment and facilities
- Greater London Scout Region annual fee
- Member communications
- County web site
- Day-to-day running costs
- Public perception and community engagement
The South London Scout Centre - The Fort
It’s important to highlight that the South London Scout Centre is totally self-financing and is not supported in anyway by our county membership fee. The county benefits from access to meeting and other facilities for county events without charge.
The County does not currently employ any staff to manage the centre and the centre’s management team is made up of 100% volunteers. The centre makes a modest surplus, after running costs, which maintains and develops the centre, and it has been this way for decades.
We are please to announce that during 2025 the county is offering weekend camping at The Fort for sections and units across the county at no charge. Further details on this and how you can book will be provided before the end of the year.
A note for members in Bexley and Bromley Districts
The county membership fee is a substantial increase over the £4.60 previously charged in Greater London South East. It is important to note that the GLSE county fee was £11.60 per youth member in 2019-20. The reduced fee in subsequent years was a plan to give back to local scouting unnecessary reserves that had been built up, particularly when the county employed staff and leased commercial office premises. The budget for costs and services provided in 2024-25 was set at £8.00 per youth member, and this (with inflation) would have been the expected county fee for 2025-26.
Conclusion
You, our volunteers, are our most precious resource, and as volunteers like you, we want to keep Scouts affordable for our members and their families and at the same time maintain and improve the services, opportunities, and support we offer you. That’s why we continue to take action to keep the county membership fee as low as practical and at the same time put in place a sustainable long-term plan that caters for future rising costs.
Our Board of Trustees is committed to providing the support and services you and our districts, groups, and units, need to help you provide life changing scouting experiences to your members. That’s why each year our board will review our membership fee, with the aim of achieving the best results whilst keeping our membership fee as low as possible.
Thanks for everything you do to help young people succeed in life.
Post on behalf of the County Trustee Board
Image
