What does the executive committee do?
The executive committee members are charity trustees and are totally responsible to the group council for the effective management of the group. They address all aspects of good stewardship and it is a role not to be taken on lightly.
There are reasons why a person may be ineligible to hold the position of a charity trustee. The Group Chairman needs to be assured that everyone who is invited or offers to become a trustee is eligible.
The committee is responsible for looking after the groups:
- legal issues (charity issues, property deeds, insurance, DBS checks, etc.);
- Finances (accounts, budgeting, cash flow, investments, etc.),
- Records (minutes, correspondence, accounts, etc.).
The Group Scout Leader appoints the Chair of the executive (although it is a good idea to sound out other members of your leader teams as to whom you wish to appoint) and work closely with them to manage the Group’s affairs.
The executive is responsible for ensuring that the sections have the necessary equipment, resources, materials and funds to provide an exciting and vibrant programme, This includes ensuring there are adequate numbers of adults to run the sections so adult recruitment and retention is very much the executive’s responsibility.
Who is who?
Membership of the executive is agreed by the group council at the group’s annual general meeting. The Group Scout Leader can nominate members, others can be elected by the group council and others can be co-opted.
At the annual general meeting the council needs to elect a Secretary and Treasurer.
All members of the executive committee are there to represent the interests of the young people and sections.
Other roles can be created as the executive sees fit on a permanent or temporary basis.
The executive can also establish sub‐committees for specific purposes such as fund raising, group camp, activities, hall, building, etc.
The district and county may attend executive meetings, but unless invited specially or there are major difficulties, it is unlikely anyone would attend unannounced.
Doing its Job
The executive committee meet regularly to discuss issues and to plan for the development of the group four to six times a year.
The Group Chair manages these meetings working to an agenda.
The agenda for meetings will depend on what issues are affecting the group. Fundraising and equipment are often high on the agenda as are Safety and Safeguarding, Health and Safety in additional to any financial obligations..
Deciding what needs to be discussed should result from the group’s development plan. This is the documented plan which the executive uses to know:
- what it needs to be doing
- by when
- by whom
- how it will know it has got there
- where it is at the moment.
Sub-Committees
Sub‐committees can reduce the core workload of the executive. For example, the fundraising sub-committee can have a representative on the executive and can report on its progress, meetings and planned events. Which means the executive meeting does not have to concern itself with the detail of any fundraising.
