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Our County Membership Subscription for 2027

We want every young person in South London to have the opportunity to enjoy Scouting, develop skills for life and find a place to belong. Our annual membership subscription helps make this possible by supporting our volunteers, Groups and Districts.

For 2027, the national element of the annual subscription will increase by £1, from £43.50 to £44.50 per youth member, including the 50p prompt payment discount. You can read more about this in the Scouts’ announcement⁠.

The South London Scouts County element will increase by £2, from £10.50 to £12.50 per youth member. We know that every increase matters to families and Groups, so we want to explain how this contribution will continue to actively support local Scouting.

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Supporting our volunteers and helping scouting grow

Our County Development & Volunteer Support Service helps scouting thrive across our seven Districts. Working alongside volunteers, it provides practical support, advice, resources and administration to help District and Group Lead Volunteers and section teams deliver great experiences for young people.

Guided by the County Leadership Team, the service responds to local needs, supports organisational development and plans projects that help scouting grow. Its purpose is to make volunteering easier and ensure our teams have the support they need, when they need it.

Since our two former Counties came together, the area and number of Groups and Districts we support have grown considerably. This has increased demand for support with opening new Groups and Sections, reaching new communities and helping existing Groups and Units thrive. Alongside this work, there has been an increase in the number of day-to-day administrative tasks that need to be undertaken.

To give the service more capacity to meet these needs, the County Trustee Board has agreed to appoint a paid, part-time County Support Assistant. They will take on many of these routine administrative tasks, helping us provide consistent support to volunteers and providing more time to continue to work closely with local teams to support our amazing volunteers and support local initiatives to create opportunities for more young people to join us.

Removing First Aid course booking fees

We have listened to volunteers’ feedback about the £12 First Aid learning booking fee and how it fits with our commitment to providing learning that is free at the point of delivery.

These courses are always in high demand, and the booking fee was introduced to encourage people to commit to attending. We’re pleased to confirm that from 1st February 2027 there will no longer be a separate booking fee and the contribution previously collected through the booking fee will be included in the County membership subscription.

As there needs to be a definite change over date, existing bookings will remain under the current arrangements, and booking fees already paid will not be refunded.

Going forward, we will ask everyone who books a place to attend to let us know as early as possible, and at least seven days in advance of the course, if their plans change and they are unable to attend. This gives another volunteer the chance to attend and helps us make the most of our trainers’ time and County funds.

To help protect these valuable course places, we will reserve the right to apply a £25 no-show charge if someone does not attend without giving advance notice.

Thank you for helping us make every course place count and for taking the time to build the skills and confidence to keep young people safe.

First Response


Keeping pace with rising costs

Like families and Groups, the County faces rising costs. In the past, leaving subscriptions unchanged for several years has sometimes meant a larger increase was needed later.

The Trustee Board will now review County costs annually, with the membership subscription being set to reflect rising expenditure. This will help us plan responsibly and avoid larger catch-up increases.

Investment income also helps fund our work. Setting aside some income each year helps preserve the long-term value of our investments and reserves, keeping the County financially secure and ready to support Scouting.

The Trustee Board has worked carefully to keep the 2027 increase as low as possible while maintaining and building the support our volunteers and local teams need.

Thank you for the time, care and enthusiasm you give to Scouting in South London. Your contribution helps strengthen our Groups and Districts, support our volunteers and give more young people a place to belong.

David Dowle

Chair of Trustees
South London Scouts

 

Don’t forget to check out the other areas of support provided by our County…

  • Our website – we have a comprehensive website that is the go-to place for almost all volunteer information. Check out our Volunteer Support pages and your groups page
  • OSM Gold Plus – We provide OSM Gold Plus for all sections that want it. Take-up continues to grow as leaders see the value in reducing administration. 
  • Camp free at The Fort – all sections in our County can camp at our County Site at no charge 
  • Volunteer learning and programme support – To support you with delivering excellent scouting, we provide, a comprehensive development programme and programme resources.