What is the Group Council?

The Group Council consists of everyone who has in interest in the fortunes of Scout Group. It only meets once a year - at the Annual General Meeting.

This meeting usually occurs in May or June. The formal part of the meeting consists of the speeches from the important leaders within the Group (Group Scout Leader, Cub Scout Leader, Scout Leader) and the officers from the Executive Committee.

Once all the formalities are dealt with, then its over to the Cubs and Scouts for their Entertainment or Games. 

If that is the Group Council, why do we have parents on a committee?

Good Question!

It is simply that the Group Council is too big to meet at regular intervals during the year. So we have a Group Executive Committee instead.

Who is a member of the Group Executive Committee?

The following people have to be members of the GEC:

• Group Scout Leader

• Cub Scout Leader

• Scout Leader

They are there to represent the views of all the leaders.

But with only Leaders on the Committee, we would not have any checks on what we do.

So, in addition to the leaders, we also have:

• Chairman - who is nominated by the GSL at the AGM

• Secretary 

• Treasurer 

• both the Secretary and Treasurer are "elected" at the AGM, but in practice we have yet to have a situation where two people wanted the same job.

• Parents representatives

• these are additional people so that the GEC has sufficient representatives from the Cubs and Scouts families. 

What does the Group Executive Committee do?

Control our money!

That's probably too short an answer, but that's the fact.

Without their controls of the bank accounts, the leaders could spend the money we collect in subs on almost anything. It means that when we need to spend significant amounts of money, for example, if we need some new tents, or when we bought our new shed. 

The other side of the coin is to raise money. So they run the 100 club - which is a lottery which has a greater chance of winning that the Lotto, and only costs you £2 per month. Mind you the top prize is £25.

In the last year they have also been dealing with the Inland Revenue. All our parents have been asked to fill in a form which we then send to the generous tax people. Those nice kind generous tax people then send us a cheque which is a refund on the income tax that those nasty horrible people in another section of the Inland Revenue take from our wages each month. If you pay £75 in subs during the course of a year, the inland revenue send us £21. 

The GEC are also responsible for helping the group run its obligations to the Ramsden Bellhouse Village Hall. These are the summer fete and Christmas Bazaar (both of which raise money for the upkeep of the hall) and to raise money for the Village Hall Charity - which is the Leukaemia Research Fund in 2005.

They also have to appoint an auditor to look over the accounts.

Their final job is working with the leaders so that 1st Ramsden and Downham is the best run Scout Group in the area; offering our Cubs, Scouts and Explorers the widest opportunities to do new activities in safe conditions.

Anything I should know about the Committee?

A picture tells a thousand words

Date Updated: 04 March 2006