Governance

Ex-officio members

These people have a role on the board due to their role in scouting.

These are:

• County Chair
• County Lead Volunteer 
• County Youth Lead 
• County Treasurer

Elected members
These people stand for election at the Annual General Meeting and are elected by the County Scout Council to take on the role; there are usually four to six in number.

Nominated members
These people are nominated by the County Lead Volunteer in partnership with the County Chair and approved at the Annual General Meeting; there must be no more nominated members than elected members.

Co-opted members
Co-opted members are chosen to take on a role by the County Board of Trustees due to specific skills or knowledge useful to the committee; there must be no more co-opted members than elected members.

The membership is set up this way to ensure that the interests of the County Scout Council and the County Lead Volunteer are represented, and balanced.

The Trustee Board must act in the charity’s best interests, acting with reasonable care and skill and take steps to be confident that:

The scout county is:

● well managed
● carrying out its purposes for the public benefit
● complying with the charity’s governing document and the law
● managing the charity’s resources responsibly

And that the scout county:

1. is operating compliant with the current edition of Policy, Organisation & Rules (POR), including effective management of the key policies listed in chapter 2 - equal opportunities, privacy and data protection, religious, safeguarding, safety, vetting, youth member anti-bullying policies
2. ensures that young people are meaningfully involved in decision making at all levels
3. plan so that there are sufficient resources (funds, people, property and equipment) available to meet the planned work of each of the county to enable the delivery of high quality programmes and the youth training programme
4. has a positive image in the local community

The trustee board members must themselves collectively:

1. develop and maintain a risk register, including putting in place appropriate mitigations
2.  ensure that the county’s finances are properly managed, including development and maintenance of appropriate budgets to support the work of the county
3. maintain and manage:
      o   a reserves policy (including a plan for use of reserves outside the ‘minimum’)
      o   an investment policy
      o   a public benefit statement for the county
4. ensure that people, property and equipment are appropriately insured, and that any property and equipment owned or used by the county is properly protected and maintained
5. promote and support the development of scouting in the local area
6. ensure the appointment and management and operation of any sub-committees, including appointing a chair to lead the sub-committee
7. ensure that effective administration is in place to support the work of the trustee board
8.  appoint any administrators, advisers and co-opted members of the trustee board
9. ensure transparency of operation, including: o prepare and approve the annual accounts and arrange that they are signed-off by an auditor, independent examiner or scrutineer as appropriate and as appointed by the Scout Council at their Annual General Meeting (AGM)
       o   prepare and approve the Trustees’ annual report (which must include the annual accounts)
       o   present the approved Trustees’ annual report and annual accounts to the scout council at the AGM
       o   following the AGM, ensure that a copy of the trustee annual report and accounts is sent to the the Charity Commission for England & Wales
       o   take responsibility for adherence to data protection legislation (GDPR), recognising that, dependent on circumstances, it will at different times act as a data controller and as a data processor
       o   individually and collectively maintain confidentiality regarding appropriate trustee board business
10. where staff are employed:
        o   act as a responsible employer in accordance with scouting’s values and relevant legislation
        o   ensure that effective line management is in place for each employed staff member and that these are clearly established and communicated
        o   ensure that appropriate specific personnel insurance is in place

Ex-Officio

• County Chair                                     Becca Smith 
• County Youth Commissioner          Alfie Francis
• County Commissioner                     Darren Lodge 
• County Treasurer                              Currently vacant 
• County interim book keeper            John Sweeney  
• Board Administrator                        Currently vacant
• Board minute taker                           Kay Francis 

Nominated members

1. Roe Hennessy-Littlejohns
2. Jason Hagan
3. Mark Doverty
4. Joseph Shippam
5. Ben Stewart

Elected members

1. David Attenborough
2. Cheryl Stonebridge
3. Russell Jones
4. Ben Ensom
5. Katie Sturgess  

Co-oped 

• Matt Butterfield - County Development & Volunteer Services Manager 

The County Trustee Board can appointed sub-committees to manage devolved responsibilities and to help with the governance of the County. Currently these are:

Finance sub-Committee
The Finance sub-Committee has devolved operational responsibility for financial management on behalf of the County Executive Committee and makes recommendations on appropriate financial management controls to the trustees. The County Treasurer is the trustee with day-to-day responsibility for financial management, acting on behalf of County Executive Committee.

• Becca Smith         Sub-committee Chair
• Darren Lodge       County Commissioner
• Gordon Car           SLSC Warden
• Matt Butterfield