Failure of The Scouts Association to oversee local health and safety execution
First to latest report 7 Feb 2020 — 22 Feb 2024
Reports that mention this concern
2
Times this concern has been raised
3
Stated actions linked to this concern
10
What this concern includes
Includes failures of The Scouts Association's central oversight and accountability arrangements for health and safety or safeguarding execution by its federated local charities, including inadequate visibility of local practice, unclear allocation of accountability and insufficient central assurance or support.
What is not included
Excludes generic governance, leadership or accountability deficiencies not specifically tied to The Scouts Association's oversight of local health and safety or safeguarding execution.
Excludes failures confined to an individual Scout group or local charity where no deficiency in The Scouts Association's central oversight is identified.
Excludes deficiencies in centrally generated training or POR requirements where the reported unsafe condition is not the failure of central oversight of local implementation.
Excludes unrelated school, care-home, housing or other organisational oversight processes.
Trends
Reports over time
Reports mentioning this concern, over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
The Scout Association2
Children's Commissioner for Wales1
Department for Education1
Health and Safety Executive1
Office of the Children's Commissioner1
The Charity Commission1
Unity Insurance Services1
Welsh Government1
Registered charity2
Charity regulator1
Company1
Devolved government1
Ministerial department1
Statutory commissioner1
Workplace safety regulator1
Reports and published responses 2 reports
See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response
North Wales (East and Central)
Concerns raised2
Failure of central oversight of local safety execution
Insufficient safety-team resources and local reach
This report raised 15 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked responses
Department for Education
The Charity Commission
The Scout Association
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.8
The Charity Commission
Continue examining TSA’s safeguarding and governance concerns, including assessing corrective work and requesting supporting information.
The Charity Commission
Ensure TSA and its affiliated charities understand which safety improvements the Commission considers essential.
The Scout Association
Build and operate a permanent internal Audit and Assurance team to audit local charities, monitor compliance and report nationally.
The Scout Association
Introduce a movement-wide assurance framework for local safety compliance monitoring and auditing.
The Scout Association
Increase safety, adventurous-activities and training staffing capacity, including recruiting new safety roles and agreeing a permanent structure.
The Scout Association
Review and improve support, training, communication and accountability for County and District leadership and Trustees.
Department for Education
Continue assessing the case and practicalities for further regulation of out-of-school settings.
The Scout Association
Commission an external strategic safety partnership to review safety practices and provide third-party assurance.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.2
Department for Education
The Department cannot comment on the Scout Association’s internal structure, workings, or implementation of internal policies and procedures.
Outside remitThe respondent said that this matter was outside its role or authority.
Department for Education
The Scout Association and the Charity Commission are expected to address matters concerning internal operations and charity trustees’ legal duties, respectively.
Redirects responsibilityThe respondent said that another organisation was responsible for deciding or taking action.
North Wales (East and Central)
Concerns raised1
Failure of the Scout Association to oversee health and safety execution at ground level
This report raised 13 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
The Scout Association
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
The Scout Association
Introduce and circulate the Safety Advisor role to support safety-policy implementation and compliance locally.
The Scout Association
Agree six new safety staff posts, including a Head of Safety, National Headquarters Safety Manager and four Compliance Officers.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
The Scout Association
The federated structure, central policies, local oversight, training, database and monitoring provide appropriate safety oversight despite organisational distance from local groups.
Existing arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.