We hope that everyone who comes into contact with Scouting will have a positive experience. However it is inevitable that, on occasion, concerns may arise which require investigation. As the majority of Scouting activity takes place locally within our community it is expected that most of these will be dealt with quickly and courteously in an informal way by your Section Leader, Group Lead Volunteer or District Lead Volunteer as appropriate. However, it is possible that a problem may arise that requires a more formal investigation and response. We are committed to seeking to resolve these complaints fairly and in the best interests of everyone involved.
Should you ever have a concern about a matter within your Section or Scout Group please contact your Group Lead Volunteer initially. They will listen to the issues and will do their best to answer and resolve them. If you do not want to discuss the matter with the Group Lead Volunteer, or if they cannot deal with your concerns, or if your query is more serious, your District Lead Volunteer will assist you.
All formal complaints must be lodged within 3 months of reasonably knowing sufficient facts about the situation. Our aim is to resolve all issues raised within four weeks of receiving your concerns. However, this may take longer depending on the nature of the issue. If the timescale needs to be extended, you should expect to be kept informed of progress.
If after receiving a response you are concerned that it was not handled appropriately, or still consider that you have not had a satisfactory answer, you may express these concerns to the next level of Scouting using our formal appeal process. So, if your grievance was originally dealt with at Scout Group level this will mean contacting the District Lead Volunteer. If it was originally dealt with by the District Lead Volunteer, then the County Lead Volunteer should be contacted.
It is the Association’s policy that the original response to a complaint may be reviewed using our formal appeal process just once. This means that once you have appealed against the initial consideration or outcome of your original issue, and a review has been undertaken and a response made to you, the matter will be closed and no further appeal or review will be possible.
Any appeal must be made within three months of being notified of the outcome of the original consideration. You may be asked to state clearly why you are unhappy or dissatisfied with the way it was handled.
We do not accept and investigate anonymous complaints, complaints received from a third party, (except about youth members), or complaints that are broadly or substantively the same as previously received complaints. We also do not progress complaints that are found to be vexatious or malicious.