Policy for District run events

Harborough District Scouts Trustee Board. Version 2 – 2024

A District event is defined as one whereby the District Trustee Board are responsible for and if applicable underwrite any losses.

All events run by the District are self-funding unless agreed in advance by the District Trustee Board.

All Budgets submitted must include a contingency.

Before an event is advertised a budget must be drawn up and approved by the relevant person as below:

• Event with a turnover less than £500.00 approval is sought by the Organiser from the District Treasurer.
• Event with a turnover between £500.00 and £1,000.00 approval is sought by the Organiser from the District Chairman and District Treasurer.
• Event with a turnover greater than £1000.00 approval is sought by the Organiser from the full District Trustee Board.

Any Monies left over from an event classed as “general” or “regular” will only be reimbursed at the discretion of the Trustee Board.

If the Trustee Board decide it is not feasible to issue a refund the residue remains with the District Trustee Board who reserve the right to use any surpluses to subsidise any other event which has made a loss in that year. If no event is loss making the Trustees will decide on how that money is to be allocated.

In this context “general” means any one off event where the surplus income or deficit are classed as unrestricted funds.

All events that occur on a “regular” basis have their own designated fund and this money is used to fund deposits and up front costs for the next event.

Refund Policy

This policy relates to any activity or camp defined as a District Event as defined in the District Events Policy.

For all events that are underwritten by the Trustee Board, the following points apply:

*It is the aim and responsibility of the Trustee Board to be fair to any participant if they withdraw from an event. We aim to issue refunds in accordance with the table above. However there may be specific, operational reasons why this may not be the case. If this does happen all affected parties will be contacted by a Trustee to explain any decision as to why a refund cannot be made or cannot be made in full.

We understand that there may be exceptional circumstances surrounding the withdrawal and these will be taken into account when deciding whether a refund can be made.

Any decision on refunds will not be made until the final accounts of that event have been prepared, submitted and agreed by the Trustee Board which typically will be within 3 months of the event concluding but may take up to 6 months for large scale events which typically would have a turnover in excess of £10,000.

Depending on the nature of the event non refundable staged payments may be required (these will be communicated at the event launch). These may also be deducted from any potential refund due.

If payments made are less than the committed costs the Trustee Board reserves the right to ask for an additional payment to cover the shortfall.

If fundraising is required to subsidise the event the Trustee Board will use their discretion, within the law, to assess the purpose of the funds raised as to whether this proportion of the income is distributable by way of refund or whether such sums are retained and used as a subsidy for future events.

Cancellation Policy

This policy relates to any activity or camp defined as a District Event as defined in the District Events Policy.

For all events that are underwritten by the Trustee Board, the following conditions apply:-

• If an event is cancelled for reasons beyond the control of the organising team and the event is not insured, the Trustee Board will only be able to issue refunds based on the funds available (after deducting costs for third party suppliers that may still be owed in accordance with their terms and conditions) for that event and will be a pro rata calculation between all participants based on the cost of the activity.
• If an event is cancelled for reasons beyond the control of the organising team and the event is insured, the Trustee Board will oversee the claims process and if the claim is successful any refund will be calculated based on any surplus funds for that event (after deducting costs for third party suppliers that may still be owed in accordance with their terms and conditions).
• If an event is cancelled it is the aim of the Trustee Board that the maximum amount possible is refunded to the participants. Please note where refunds are issued this will capped at the lower of the amount paid by the participant or the total of cost of the activity.

Any decision on refunds may not be made until the final accounts of that event have been prepared, submitted and agreed by the Trustee Board which typically will be within 3 months of the event concluding but may take up to 6 months for large scale events which typically would have a turnover in excess of £10,000, or where an insurance claim is required.