Clyde's Membership Fee 22/23 Update

Over the last year, we’ve all experienced challenges to make sure we can get back to good safe scouting.

We were happy to see, in the 2022 Census figures, that our membership numbers are growing across the Region and that groups are beginning to recover from the pandemic. We have also started to see Squirrel Dreys pop up across the Districts, which are key to supporting the youngest members of our community grow and learn as they were the most affected from the pandemic.

Last year, we reviewed our current assets and took the decision to sell our premises at Elmbank Street and a portion of the land at Avondyke in order to support the growth and objectives of Clyde Scouts and our members. As part of the sale agreement for Elmbank St, we have a 5-year lease of the premises, allowing us the time to review the service and structure of the Glasgow Scout Shop and offices, and look at where will be best to work from in the future.

Our Regional Executive Committee have continued to meet throughout the pandemic and make key decisions. We can see that costs are rising across our services, and this is likely to get harder over the next year; we will continue to monitor and look at new ways to support the Region’s costs. The most important objective for us it to make sure that we are here to support our volunteers and young people when they need us most.

Our Regional Membership fee is vital in covering essential ongoing costs to support the Region, such as providing training, events, advice, and leadership.

We have seen membership fees from UK and Scottish HQ increase to £38.00 with a prompt payment discount of 50p. As a Region, we have decided to retain our £5 membership fee, but for this year (22/23) waive the fee. This will mean that Clyde Region will request Districts make payment of £38 per member this year.

The Executive will review this each year to make sure we are able to provide the best support to our members.

It’s also important to note that this fee relates to the services provided by the UK Headquarters.

Each District and Group will be reviewing their own financial situation, so the amount you pay per youth member may differ. We’re sure you’ll hear about the membership fee you have to pay for your area soon.

Clyde Region’s Executive Committee are pleased that we are able to retain our membership fee at £5 and waive the fee for this year. We hope that this supports our Districts, Groups, young people and their families at a time that we know many parents/carers will be making difficult decisions about rising costs for food and fuel.

We’d like to send our whole-hearted thanks to every volunteer for your support throughout these last few years and can’t wait to see what Scouting brings in the future.