Expenses Policy
In accordance with The Scout Association’s principles of good governance and financial management, the Group’s Expenses Policy ensures that no member of the Trustee Board, leader, or helper is required to incur personal financial loss as a result of:
- Delivering the Scout programme
- Expenses directley related to any scouting related event
- Gaining or maintaining mandatory or role-related qualifications
- Attending training or courses approved in advance by the Trustee Board
All expenditure must be reasonable, necessary, and incurred wholly for the purposes of Scouting.
Categories of Expenditure
Group expenditure is categorised as follows:
- Section Programme Costs
- Equipment
- Regular Group Costs (including badges and neckers)
- Camps, Activities and Events (Food)
All expenditure must be made and reimbursed in accordance with this policy and the Group’s approved payment methods.
Section Programme Expenditure
Section Leaders are authorised to incur reasonable expenditure for the delivery of their weekly programme activities.
The Trustee Board has approved a budget of up to £7.50 per member per term, based on section membership at the start of each term, which may be spent without further approval.
Approved Section budgets will be allocated to an agreed Group prepaid payment card. Responsibility for the card rests with the named cardholder.
This budget must not be used for:
- Capital equipment purchases
- Badges and Neckers
- Regular Group Expenditure
- Camps, trips, or other organised events *
*These are covered under Camps, Activities and Events below.
Badges and Neckers
The routine purchase of badges, awards, and neckers required for members does not require additional Trustee Board approval and is treated as a regular Group expense.
Regular Group Expenditure
The Treasurer, in consultation with the trustree board, is authorised to make payments for routine and recurring Group costs, including but not limited to:
- Insurance premiums
- Utilities and Scout premises costs
- Badge and necker invoices
- Capitation fees
- Other regular and budgeted Group expenditure
Camps, Activities and Events
All Group and Section camps, trips, and events should be planned and costed with the intention of being financially self-supporting.
Each event must have a nominated organiser who is responsible for:
- Preparing a budget
- Assessing financial risk
- Identifying any requirement for deposits, financial support, or a working float
Any request for financial support or use of Group funds must be approved by the Trustee Board in advance and recorded in the meeting minutes.
Decisions relating to financial assistance or hardship support for individual attendance are at the discretion of the Trustee Board and must be clearly recorded in the event accounts submitted with the post-event Expenses Form.
Where possible, suppliers should invoice the Group directly. Invoices must be submitted to the Treasurer or Group Lead Volunteer (GLV) for payment.
For expenditure incurred during camps (e.g. food and approved activities), the agreed budget may be issued via an approved prepaid payment card to the designated leader.
Cash must not be collected for any Group event. All payments must be made using the Group’s official payment systems.
Approved Payment Methods
All expenditure must be made using one of the following Group-approved methods:
- Group prepaid debit card
- Group bank debit card
- Bank transfer
- Group cheque
All expenses must:
- Be recorded in the Group’s approved expense recording system
- Be supported by a valid receipt or invoice
- Have physical receipts retained and made available to the Treasurer on request
Significant or capital expenditure (including equipment purchases) must be requested in advance and approved by the Trustee Board.
