Cost of Living & Hardship Policy

The increases in cost of living will have a direct impact on Scouts. We want Scouts to continue to grow and deliver skills for life for more young people, even during this uncertain time. This is when our young people and their families need us most. We firmly believe that cost should never be a barrier to anyone participating in scouting.

Elstree and District Scouts firmly believe that cost should never present a barrier to anyone participating in scouting.

To ensure we are able to offer ongoing support to our families in need, the District Executive Committee agreed to ringfence £5000 of district central funds over the next 3 years to support funding required as per this policy. This motion is due to be reviewed in October 2025

The district oversee a broad variety of activities at district level, all of which may require a different approach when considering how best to support our families to ensure that our activities can remain viable, whilst still offering support where and when needed to our families who need it most.

To ensure that support is always available, each area has been given tiered support, with different approval levels, which will ensure that further support is available where needed.

Publishing our Stance

On all payment pages, forms and emails, to ensure that our stance is clearly communicated, the following statement should be added:

Elstree and District Scouts firmly believe that cost should never be a barrier to anyone participating in scouting, if you require any support, we have a dedicated hardship fund and a policy in place to support you, if you are encountering any difficulties making this payment, please get in touch by emailing support@elstreescouts.org.uk or speaking with your leader

To ensure that parents/carers are aware there is further support available, the following statement should be added to comms with parents when an offer/approval has been made at Tier 1 or 2. (This will also be added onto any payment plans which require invoicing via sage)

We have further support available if you need it, and are happy to have a discussion if this does not provide the support you need. If you need further support, please do let me know, and I can arrange for further assistance.

District Sections- Hardship Support

Ongoing Payments (Eg: Membership Subscription Payments)

Tier	Approval Level	Support Available
Tier 1	Always Available on Request	Membership Subscription Payments split into half termly/weekly costs Invoiced outside of OSM
Tier 2	Requires District Explorer Scout Leader Approval	1/2 Term provided Free of Charge
Tier 3	Requires Core Exec (DC/Chair/Treasurer) Approval (2 to Authorise)	50% Discount on Subs (Long Term) Waive all Subs (Discretionary)

Camps & Events (Up to £150)

Tier	Approval Level	Support Available
Tier 1	Always Available on Request	Split Payment (Full payment due prior to event) Invoiced outside of OSM
Tier 2	Requires District Explorer Scout Leader Approval	Split Payment (At least 50% must be paid prior to event)
Tier 3	Requires Core Exec (DC/Chair/Treasurer) Approval (2 to Authorise)	Split Payment (Any Schedule) Event FOC

Uniform

Tier	Approval Level	Support Available
Tier 1	Requires District Explorer Scout Leader Approval	Uniform purchased by Unit

District Sections events with a total cost more than £150 require DEC Approval and consideration for financial support

District Events

Events with a total cost less than £50

Tier	Approval Level	Support Available
Tier 1	Always available on request	Split Payment (Full payment due prior to event)
Tier 2	Requires ADC/DDC Approval	Discount event by 25%
Tier 3	Requires Core Exec (DC/Chair/Treasurer) Approval (2 to Authorise)	Discount event by 50% Event FOC

Events with a total cost between £50-300

Tier	Approval Level	Support Available
Tier 1	Always available on request	Split Payment (Full payment due prior to event)
Tier 2	Requires ADC/DDC Approval	Split Payment (At least 50% must be paid prior to event)
Tier 3	Requires Core Exec (DC/Chair/Treasurer) Approval (2 to Authorise)	Split Payment (Discretionary Schedule) Event FOC

Events with a total cost more than £300 (Eg: International Camps, Expeditions)

Tier	Approval Level	Support Available
Tier 1	Requires Core Exec (DC/Chair/Treasurer) Approval (2 to Authorise)	Discount event by 1/3 of the total event cost
Tier 2	Requires DEC Consideration and Approval	Other discretionary measures

Leaders Attending District Events

Whilst our priority when considering funding must always be our young people, we recognise that hardship can affect everyone.

We will always fund reasonable expenses, but there may be events where an amount is chargeable to leaders, to cover some costs associated with the event. Whilst we can, and will offer support to leaders when there is a need for it, it is important we consider how funding leaders on events adds value to what we are offering our young people.

As such, hardship support can only be offered to a leader where there is an identified need and benefit to that leader attending an event (eg: A specific permit, to make up ratios or a highly suitable leader for a particular event). To be eligible for this support, the leader must hold either a leadership or executive role, a full appointment, and have no outstanding compliance issues.

Tier	Approval Level	Support Available
Tier 1	ADC/DDC Approval	50% Discount
Tier 2	Requires Core Exec (DC/Chair/Treasurer) Approval (2 to Authorise)	Event FOC (Up to £100) Other discretionary measures
Tier 3	Required DEC Consideration and Approval	Event FOC (Above £100)

Monitoring 
This policy will be subject to monitoring, which will involve providing some basic details around the person requiring support, the person approving the support, and the reason for the approval.

This is to enable us to monitor the use of our hardship funds, and use generalised data to apply for further support where it is needed.

Team members issuing approval should log their decisions using the Support Fund Approval Form, which can be found under Info for Volunteers>Event Management>Support Fund Approval