Preparing for Census in 2024

At the start of each year, we hold our annual Census.

It’s important that every Group, Unit and Active Support Unit takes part, as the data as gives us key information about our membership figures and the frameworks (Districts, Counties, Areas, and Regions) that support them.

Our census also helps us to identify areas of growth and information around the demographics of the movement, which is helpful when we work with partners, funders and Governments.  

For Census in 2024, we’re bringing the timeline forward. We also want to remind you why some of the information we ask you for is important to help us achieve our goals. 

Changes to the timeline

Due to the upcoming changes to the volunteer experience which will to land in early 2024, we are bringing our annual Census timeline forward. Our hope is that this gives you time to prioritise Census, before your attention shifts to adopting the volunteer experience changes.

The updated national timeline will look as follows:

• Between 6 and 13 December - Census passwords sent out
• 20 December – The Census site opens
• Census accurate as per the date in January you complete your return.
• 14 January – Census approvals open
• 14 February – Census closes nationally all returns must be complete and approved

Your local Commissioner will set the deadline for when you need to have complete and approved your section, group and district returns locally.

The questions in next year’s Census will be the same as last year, so while you wait for your passwords, we would strongly suggest you start to think the data we ask you to provide and make a start on compiling this data ready to submit. 

Diversity data and ‘prefer not to say’

As mentioned above, there will be no new additions or changes to the questions we asked last year. We would recommend starting to think about what data will be required (I.e. youth figures, top award data, diversity data, etc.) and how you can make a start on collecting it now. 

Last year we asked some new questions around religion and the diversity of our membership. These questions will remain for this year. This helps us to understand how our Groups/Units reflect the communities they’re in.

Understanding more around ethnicity, religion and disability helps us to identify areas for growth and development within our programme, as well as the support we can put in place to help you reach your inclusive growth goals. It also helps us to identify and celebrate success from where we have diverse communities, as well as strengthening our appeal for external support from funders and Government. 

As we look to reach our inclusive growth targets, collecting this data through Census is a great opportunity to see if you’re on track to meet those targets or to identify the areas where more support is needed. 

In previous years we know that many people choose to answer ‘prefer not to say’ to the diversity questions. Whilst ‘prefer not to say’ will remain an option, we would appreciate if you could gather the diversity data for your Group/Unit/Active Support’s membership if you’re aware. 

We know that gaining this information can be difficult, through conversations with members, young people and parents/carers you may be able to understand more. These conversations can be tricky, but please explain that we take data privacy serious, and that all data will remain anonymous and will never be used to identify any individual. Explaining the reasons behind why we collect this information may help some to feel confident to answer accurately. Remember, if anyone has questions or doesn’t understand why we ask for certain data, they can get in touch with the Scouts Support Centre who are always happy to help.

Youth membership figures and the UK HQ Membership fee

The youth membership figures submitted through Census are also used to calculate the amount each County/Area/Region pays through the UK HQ membership fee. These charges are then passed down to Districts and Groups.

Approximately one third of the Scouts' income comes from the UK HQ membership fee. The other sources of funds required to meet our costs come from fundraising activities such as donations and legacies and all profits generated by Scout Store, Scout Adventures and our Scout insurance providers Unity by selling their products and services.

The UK HQ membership fee for 2024-25 is £38 (or £37.50 with prompt payment by 23 April 2024), you can read more about the membership fee in our update from earlier this year. This fee covers only the services provided by the UK Headquarters. Nations, Counties, Areas, Regions and Districts may ask for additional fees to cover the services that they provide you.  

The UK HQ membership fee is vital as it covers our essential ongoing costs. The fee supports the development of the youth programme, supports our volunteers by providing guidance on scouts.org.uk and through our Support Centre, Event and Awards Teams, and funds the digital tools we use to make volunteering easier. It also covers vital Safeguarding advice and support, insurance for all members and our legal advice. You can view all services the UK HQ membership fee covers on this page.

Making a start now

For now, we’d ask that you please register any new or closed sections on Compass. If you’re not sure how to do this, please contact the Scouts Support Centre who will be able to advise. 

Remember, you don’t need to wait for your passwords or the official Census date to start collecting your data. You can start to gather your youth data in anticipation now.

Some Groups and Units may be able to use the Census aggregator tool on Online Scout Manager (OSM) to easily transfer the Census data over, for some this data may be stored elsewhere. We’d ask if people can start to update their records wherever they are stored, it will make it easier and quicker to report once Census opens on 20 December.  

You can view our online guidance for next year’s Census which will remind you of the key dates, the tools available to support you and provide you with a response to frequently asked questions.

In future years, the new digital tools that we’re introducing will make it easier for you to complete the Census each year. Once the new membership system is up and running, in 2025 we anticipate that you will no longer need to complete the adult volunteer part of Census.