Scouting for all

Financial support

If you're at all concerned about covering the cost of our membership fee or any activities, please speak to the Section Leader in your young person's section in confidence: there are many ways we can support you.

If you receive any of these income-based benefits and would benefit from financial support, please get in touch with your young person's Section Leader:

• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit, with a yearly income of less than £16,190 before tax and not receiving Working Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit run-on (you might get this for 4 weeks if you're no longer eligible for Working Tax Credit)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Guarantee Credit (part of Pension Credit)

You'll need to show proof of receiving the benefit to the section leader in the first term your young person attends, and then each year at the start of the autumn term.

Requests for financial support are discussed and decided by the Group Lead Volunteers. The support we can give may vary from term to term, depending on the charity's finances. Anything you tell us is kept in strict confidence and only shared with the Group Lead Volunteers.

Uniform bank and camping kit loans

Buying uniform and camping equipment for growing young people can be expensive, and it's hard to keep up as they change sizes and sections. So we run a uniform bank and a camping equipment loan bank. As well as saving money, you're helping the planet by recycling uniform and kit.

If your young person has moved up a section or grown out of their uniform, please hand it to one of the Group Leaders so we can pass it on. Donated uniform goes first to young people from low-income families. If we have more than we need, we offer it to other families in the group for a voluntary contribution, which goes towards activities and camps.

We also collect clean, usable camping kit and clothing such as sleeping bags, sleeping mats, waterproofs and walking boots, and lend them to families in the group for camp. Please return items in a usable condition so they can be passed on; if something comes back damaged, we'll ask for a donation to replace it. If you have kit you'd be happy to donate, please hand it to a leader.